Recent studies have proposed a large set of powerful characteristics-based factors in the stock market. This study examines the pricing of these factors using portfolios that are formed by directly sorting stocks based on their exposure to these factors. These beta-sorted portfolios have very...

Using portfolios that are formed by directly sorting stocks based on their exposure to characteristics-based factors, earlier studies find that these beta-sorted portfolios have very large ex post factor beta spreads. However, the return spreads between high- and low-beta firms are typically...

We probe the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on business activities in China by exploiting big data on 1.5 billion sales invoices. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we estimate that the average drop in sales is between 23% and 35%, depending on firm size, for the 12-week period after...

As leveraged investors, are margin traders as informed as short sellers? Using a unique dataset on stock-level short selling and margin trading from three international stock markets, we find that margin trading has no cross-sectional predictability but short selling does. Compared to short...

As leveraged investors, are margin traders as informed as short sellers? Using a unique dataset on stock-level short selling and margin trading from three international stock markets, we find that margin trading has no cross-sectional predictability but short selling does. Compared to short...